CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
CASE STUDY 2 (10%)
DUE: WEEK 8 (6th April 2020, in class before 6pm)
Network Strategies at Federal Express
Over the years, Federal Express Corporation (“FedEx”) has transformed itself from an express delivery
company to a worldwide transportation, global logistic, and supply chain solutions company that relies
heavily on e-Business. The Optically Recorded Information Online Network (ORION) project at Federal
express is an early example of how FedEx utilized new information technologies while reengineering the
business processes. As noted later, this trend has continued.
ORION was conceived in the mid 1990s in response to the inability of alternative methods (paper,
microfilm, microfiche) to cope with the massive documentation needed for FedEx’s more than 90,000
employees at that time. Instead of just an archiving system, ORION virtually eliminated all manual data
and allowed secure and instant access to documents worldwide. This was accomplished through
systematically combining technological innovation with organizational changes. In particular, the project
was conducted as three stages of reengineering which systematically replaced the character -based system
with GUI devices. In each stage, the customers, input devices, output devices, indexing schemes, and
interconnecting networks were clearly specified. In addition, the workflow was reengineered in each stage
and the organizational/staff issues were carefully taken into account. The key factors for the success of
this project were:
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Strong sponsorship from senior management
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Information systems group served as enabler and facilitator instead of leader
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Focus on integration with existing systems
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Effective staging of technical and organizational changes
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Constant review and analysis of evolving technologies
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High initial investment on non-technical issues such as end-user training
The company has continued the same approach to adopt e-business in the late 1990s. In 1998, the
company built a powerful technical architecture that had the ability to deliver information over the web to
all employees, customers and sites in a global economy. It has also integrated its operation with suppliers
such as Amazon.com for fast delivery. FedEx, for example, integrated its supply chain with Amazon.com
to deliver 250,000 copies of the very popular book "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" in one day! To
change its historical image from an express delivery company to an e-business company, it acquired other
companies such as Caliber Systems and RPS.. The acquisition of Caliber provides customized, integrated
logistics and warehousing solutions worldwide. RPS is North America’s second-largest provider of
business-to-business ground small-package delivery services. FedEx is growing RPS into a business-tocustomer specialty service for the residential delivery business. In 2000, FedEx announced a major reorganization to allow five subsidiary companies to function independently but to compete collectively. In
addition to streamlining many functions, the company announced that it would pool its sales, marketing
and customer service functions. The interesting aspect of FedEx is that it has adopted new technologies to
deliver business value but also has paid a great deal of attention to organizational and re-engineering or
alignment issues.
Question:
Do a review of the above feature case study. Your review should contain the following:
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Introduction of the case study (15 Marks)
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Summary of the case study (40 Marks)
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Critique (30 Marks)
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Conclusion (15 Marks)